A new year to BIN VEOLIA at London’s Natural History Museum

Outside the Natural History Museum (NHM), twenty-six human rights activists successfully engaged with museum visitors to unmask Veolia, sponsor of the NHM’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in a blatant example of corporate whitewashing by this toxic company.

A large banner was displayed that read: “VEOLIA MUST STOP SUPPORTING ISRAEL’S ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS.”

A visitor from Spain approached campaigners after reading the banner and said: “I know what Israel is doing to Palestinians and am glad that you are here.” A tourist from France said: “It’s important that people know about this.” A London resident out with his son gave the thumbs up and told a campaigner: “Well done mate.”

French multinational Veolia has been accused of complicity in Israel’s violation of international law and continues to be a legitimate global target for human rights activists.

Veolia was involved in the construction of and currently manages the controversial Jerusalem Light Rail project that links Israeli Settlements – which are internationally recognised as illegal – reinforcing the apartheid Zionist government’s hegemony over the region.

Veolia also manages the Tovlan landfill, built on stolen Palestinian land in the Occupied Jordan Valley, where rubbish from Israel and its illegal settlements are transported to by Veolia subsidiaries TMM Integrated Recycling Services and YRAV Sherutei Noy 1985. Under international law, Israel is prohibited from using occupied land to benefit its civilian population.

Another Veolia subsidiary, Connex, operates apartheid bus services connecting Israel to its illegal West Bank settlements along Road 443 which is often referred to as an ‘apartheid road.’ Not only are Palestinians prohibited from using these bus services, but portions of Road 443 are off-limits to them as well.

Activists have been successfully lobbying against Veolia in the UK and have taken credit for the company’s exclusion from numerous public service contracts worth billions.

The four Zios who turned up outside the NHM were typical of their ilk; willowy and bearded Zionist flag-waver Martin Sugarman, an Exams Officer employed by Westminster Kingsway College, was once escorted by police from Portcullis House (a Parliamentary Building in Westminster) after Sugarman raised his arm and shockingly shouted “Sieg Heil” during a 27 January 2010 lecture delivered by 85 year-old anti-Zionist Holocaust survivor Dr Hajo Meyer.

Dark-haired, shifty and spectacle-wearing South African ‘Sharon Klaff,’ another apartheid advocate, tried unsuccessfully to distribute Zionist propaganda to visitors queuing outside the NHM. ‘Klaff’ who often expresses admiration for ultra-right wing hate groups on blogs, once blatantly called a Jewish anti-Zionist campaigner in front of witnesses, “A dirty little Jew Boy,” a comment that earned her a warning from police outside the former Ahava shop on Monmouth Street.

The quote of the day was when one of the few Zionists present accused a Jewish campaigner of being a ‘self-hating Jew,’ the campaigner replied: “I’m not a self-hating Jew, I just hate you.”

Advertising apartheid

Travelling on the Underground a few weeks ago, we noticed this billboard (below) advertising the NHM’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition that has earned our nomination for a Truth in Advertising Award. Within the past few days, we’ve been receiving reports of billboards that have been supplemented with similar information, which is a promising sign.

Will the Natural History Museum ever get the message? In 2010, activists also 'enhanced' billboards like the one above.

Global BDS Movement.
This website is overseen by the steering committee of the Palestinian BDS National Committee and has been adopted as a tool of the ICNP (International Coordinating Network on Palestine) to support efforts of networking and coordination.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN).
A growing international network of Jews whose Jewish identities are not based on Zionism, but on a plurality of histories and experiences who share a commitment to participation in the legacy of struggles against colonization and imperialism.

Jody McIntyre.
Life on Wheels. One man’s journey on the path to revolution…

Karama UK.
The UK arm of Karama, an independent, non-governmental organisation providing aid for women, children and adolescents in the Deheishe Refugee Camp, Bethlehem.

King's College London Palestine Society (Facebook page).
KCL Palestine Society seeks to inform and debate issues around Israel’s occupation of Palestine as well as offer practical support through fundraising and lobbying. It also aspires to introduce Palestinian heritage and culture to the public.

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights (LPHR).
LPHR supports Palestinian people in their legal struggle to exercise their right of self-determination. It works, both in the UK and abroad, on legal issues focused on protecting and promoting Palestinian human rights.

smashEDO.
People of conscience against the US-based weapons manufacturer EDO/ITT factory in Brighton.

SOAS Palestine Society.
The Society is dedicated to increasing understanding of the Palestinian people, their culture, their heritage, their rights and their struggle for self-determination among a broad audience.

Stop the JNF Campaign.
An international campaign aimed at ending the Jewish National Fund’s role in Israeli ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid.

Stop the War Coalition.
Campaigning to stop the war currently declared by the United States and its allies against ‘terrorism’.

War on Want.
Fights poverty in developing countries in partnership with people affected by globalisation. We campaign for human rights and against the root causes of global poverty, inequality and injustice.

Australians for Palestine.
Seeks to dispel the myths and disinformation about Palestine in Australia by actively engaging with the media, academic institutions, Federal and State Parliaments, governmental bodies, NGOs, and the community at large.

Olympia BDS.
A grassroots network of community members in Olympia, Washington joining the call by Palestinian civil society for a non-violent, global movement of boycott, divestment, and sanctions of Israel.

Open Shuhada Street.
A South African based initiative to raise awareness about the lack of freedom of movement in Hebron and how this issue is a reflection of the greater injustice of the ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Palestine Solidarity Committee – Seattle (USA).
Strives to build a local and national movement in solidarity with Palestine. We work to educate the public, the media, and our governmental representatives about Palestine and the role of the US in supporting the Israeli occupation.

Tadamon!
(Arabic for “solidarity”) is a Montreal-based collective which works in solidarity with struggles for self-determination, equality and justice in the ‘Middle East’ and in diaspora communities in Montreal and beyond.

US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
A national coalition of more than 380 groups, the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation works to end U.S. support for Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Writing Rights.
South African-based Centre for Law and Social Justice was formed in 2009 and works as a virtual centre with associates who are activists and activist intellectuals.

Electronic Intifada.
Committed to comprehensive public education on the question of Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the economic, political, legal, and human dimensions of Israel’s 40-year occupation of Palestinian territories.

Indymedia UK.
A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

RUSSELL TRIBUNAL ON PALESTINE

Russell Tribunal on Palestine.
An International People’s Tribunal created by a large group of citizens involved in the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East

SOLIDARITY WITHIN PALESTINE/ISRAEL

Anarchists Against the Wall.
Direct action group in response to the construction of the wall Israel is building on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank. Works in cooperation with Palestinians in a joint popular struggle against the occupation.

Bil'in Village.
A Palestinian village that has been holding weekly demonstrations against occupation and land theft since 2005.

Free Gaza Movement.
A human rights group that organises flotillas to break the siege of Gaza and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation.

Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bil'in.
Bil’in, a small, peaceful village surrounded by hills and valleys, is a Palestinian village that is struggling to exist. It is fighting to safeguard its land, its olive trees, its resources… its liberty…